Gambling streams have been a growing sticking point for some Twitch viewers. There are people who disagree with this practice because many streamers initially attracted their audience with games and have now shifted their focus to gambling.
Others see it as problematic because, in essence, it promotes bets unregulated among an audience made up largely of minors who are easily influenced. Lucrative betting endorsements, like the one signed by the former streamer of TwitterAdin Ross, who paid almost 4 million dollars a month, have only added fuel to the fire.
Some people, like xQc, have even been criticized by other content creators for their transmissions from bets in Twitter. With him in particular, the choice to gamble online while others watch is particularly questionable given that xQc recently admitted he has a gambling addiction and lost $1.85 million in just one month. In June 2021, he said that he would stop creating such content due to the negative impact it could have on his audience.
Instead of giving up, however, he recently began performing transmissions from bets sponsored. In defense of the decision, the streamer rationalized that it would have a positive effect on viewers because “people will see that I lose and say, ‘Look, guys, the number just goes down.'”
Therefore, it was only a matter of time before a petition was started to try to officially put an end to the transmissions from bets, or at least put some restrictions on the creation of this type of content. A Change.org petition launched on May 20 by Erin Jordan specifically calls out advertisers of Twitter that make a lot of money, like AT&T, Nvidia, Logitech, HP, Uber, and Adobe, among others.
“Their ads on Twitch are played alongside Twitch streamers promoting unregulated online casinos that disproportionately harm young viewers and racial minorities,” the petition states.
These gambling streams are watched by millions of people every week, and wealthy content creators gamble with huge sums of money. Gambling takes place at online casinos that are not only banned in most US states, but also allow minors to play without identification.
The petition notes that 41% of Twitch users are between the ages of 16 and 24. Without a doubt, there are also millions of Twitch viewers who are children, who will be more easily influenced by content produced by their favorite Twitch personalities.
The petition claims that gambling broadcasts are not only unethical, but also misleading in the way they gather the audience. These streams, Jordan claims in the petition, begin in the Just Chatting section and are therefore promoted by Twitch. Once the content creator has enough viewers, the stream category changes to Slots, with some streamers receiving millions of dollars every month for this behavior.